Promotion of the restoration of unity among all Christians, the unity which is a gift of Christ and to which the Church is called by the Holy Spirit. For the Catholic Church, the Decree on Ecumenism of the Second Vatican Council provides a charter for ecumenical efforts.
The movement which seeks to achieve unity of Christians within the Church and ultimately of all humanity throughout the world.
(Christianity) the doctrine of the ecumenical movement that promotes cooperation and better understanding among different religious denominations: aimed at universal Christian unity
The movement for unity of all Christians.
a movement providing worldwide unity among religions through cooperative understanding. [ecumenical, from the Greek, "of the inhabited world."
Among traditional circles, this term usually applies to false ecumenism, unless preceded by the word "true" to differentiate between the true ecumenism of every Ecumenical Council from Nicea to Vatican I, and of valid cooperation with non-Catholics in certain civil causes such as fighting abortion, versus the false ecumenism of treating other religions as being as good and true as Catholicism.
attempts to find common religious beliefs across sectarian divisions
is the desire for visible union and religious cooperation among all Christian groups without regard to differences in teaching and practice. As Christians, we want to express fellowship with those who teach and believe as we do, but we cannot express fellowship with those who teach falsely (Romans 16:17).
The word ecumenism (also oecumenism, Å“cumenism) is derived from Greek (oikoumene), which means "the inhabited world", and was historically used with specific reference to the Roman Empire. The word is used predominantly by and with reference to Christian Churches and denominations separated by doctrine, history and practice.
